Breakwater is an American funk band from Philadelphia. The band released two albums: Breakwater in 1978, and Splashdown in 1980. The latter features the song "Release the Beast", which was sampled on "Robot Rock" by electronic duo Daft Punk.
Breakwater | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Philadelphia, United States |
| Genres | Funk, soul, R&B, funk rock |
| Years active | 1971–1980, 2010–present |
| Labels | Arista |
| Members | Gene Robinson James Gee Jones Lincoln 'Zay' Gilmore Steve Green Vince Garnell Greg Scott John 'Dutch' Braddock Kae Williams Jr. |
Background
editThe band, originally from Philadelphia was formed in 1971. The original members of Breakwater consisted of Gene Robinson, James Gee Jones, Lincoln 'Zay' Gilmore, Steve Green, Vince 'Garnel' Dutton, Greg Scott, John 'Dutch' Braddock, and Kae Williams, Jr. They were signed to the Arista label in 1978.[1] Their second album Splashdown, which was released in 1980 has been referred to by Tom Bowker of the Broward Palm Beach New Times as a funk masterpiece.[2]
Releases
editIn September, 1979, their single "You Know I Love You", written by Greg Scott, and produced by Rick Chertoff was a Billboard top single pick.[3]
For the week ending July 5, 1980, their album Splashdown at its 8th week in the Billboard charts had moved up from 35 to 34.[4] At its 13th week, it was sitting at 57, the position it was the previous week.[5]
Famous songs
edit"Release The Beast"
edit"Release the Beast" is the third song off of their second album Splashdown. The song has been sampled by the French-house group Daft Punk on their song Robot Rock.[6] The song was also used by Reese's during their 2023 Halloween advertising campaigns.[7] The song was also sampled on the intro for rapper Murs' album Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition
Sound
editThe sound of Breakwater's music is normally that of slow jams, but they have been known to incorporate rock music and funk styles into their songs, much like their song titled "You". "Release the Beast" is best known by non-funk music fans, and the band's sound can be closer compared to that of Con Funk Shun or Earth, Wind & Fire.[citation needed]
Later years
editOn October 16, 2014, the eleven-piece band with four man horn section played Warmdaddy's on S Columbus Blvd in Philadelphia.[8] It was announced that the band and fellow seventies act Pockets, an R&B funk band from Baltimore, would appear at London's Brooklyn Bowl on January 7, 2017.[9]
Discography
edit| Title | Release info | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Work It Out" / "Feel Your Way" | Arista AS 0404 | 1979 | |
| "No Limit" / "Feel Your Way" | Arista AS 0424 | 1979 | |
| "You Know I Love You" / "Unnecessary Business" | Arista AS 0457 | 1979 | |
| "Splashdown Time" / "Let Love In" | Arista AS 0518 | 1980 | |
| "Say You Love Me Girl" / "Time" | Arista AS 0542 | 1980 | |
| "Release the Beast" / "Time" | Arista AS 0565 | 1980 | [10] |
| Title | Release info | Year | F | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breakwater | Arista AB 4208 | 1978 | LP | |
| Splashdown | Arista AB 4264 | 1980 | LP | |
| Breakwater | Get On Down GET-51269 | 2010 | CD | [11] |
| Splashdown | Get On Down GET-51268 | 2010 | CD | [12] |
| Breakwater / Splashdown | Expansion EXP2CD 49 | 2016 | CD | Compilation[13] |
References
edit- ^ Soulwalking - breakwater
- ^ Broward Palm Beach New Times, October 16, 2014 - Earth, Wind & Fire and Breakwater: A Tale of Two Funk Shows in Two Different Cities By Tom Bowker
- ^ Billboard, September 22, 1979 - Page 71 Billboard's Top Single Picks
- ^ Billboard, July 5, 1980 - Page 41 Billboard Soul LP's
- ^ Billboard, August 9, 1980 - Page 18 Billboard Soul LP's
- ^ "Robot Rock" (liner notes). Daft Punk. Virgin Records, a division of Universal Music Group. 2005.
- ^ "If It's Halloween, It's Reese's Season". 4 October 2023.
- ^ Broward Palm Beach New Times, October 16, 2014 - Earth, Wind & Fire and Breakwater: A Tale of Two Funk Shows in Two Different Cities By Tom Bowker
- ^ Brooklyn Bowl - Friday, 6 January 2017, Breakwater and The Pockets Archived 3 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 45Cat - Breakwater - Discography
- ^ Discogs - Breakwater – Breakwater
- ^ Discogs - Breakwater – Splashdown
- ^ Discogs - Breakwater Discography, Compilations
External links
edit- Breakwater discography at Discogs
- Breakwater at Soulwalking
- Breakwater on Facebook